Disclaimer: I do not own Tekken in any way, shape, or form. Tekken belongs to Namco Bandai Games.
Vermilion Scar
Chapter Two: Mission Failed
Meet me in room 1845 at 12 am, sharp.
Steve smiled to himself for the umpteenth time as he snapped his phone shut. This was just one of the few messages he had received after his match last night, but this was also the only message that had actually caught his attention. It contained neither number nor name, which was very different from the usual messages he would get from his fangirls. This didn't have the usual giddiness or the words "I miss you" or even "I love you," which were merely shallow effusions of brainless bimbos.
The young man walked in the crowd, looking for the door and pushing a few people here and there. Before he could even get to the middle of the packed dance floor, he heard his manager's drunken voice from behind him. "It's Steve Fox, everybody!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the two, clapping their hands. Steve smiled slightly and nodded to a few familiar faces in the crowd.
"How 'bout a speech? Huh?" his manager asked, dragging him to the small makeshift stage to the left of the dance floor.
"How about you go home, huh, Abs? You're piss drunk," Steve whispered, smiling to some of his fans, as the fat manager walked him to the stage.
"Drunk! Who's drunk? Go ahead!" Abs shouted, pushing Steve to the stage.
Steve smiled, but he was gritting his teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists. He had to do this quick; he was already late for his meeting with the mysterious sender. Steve cleared his throat, his eyes scanning the crowd. "Well, I want to thank you all for all the support. This party has been great, and I hope to see more of you guys…," he trailed off and smiled his most pleasant smile.
The loud music started again as soon as Steve left the small stage. He pushed through the dancing people and had to duck a couple of men to avoid another conversation that would postpone his meeting. Steve continued towards the door, looking behind him every now and then to check if anybody was following him. Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn't very fond of him that evening, for he bumped into someone.
An attractive, brown-haired woman glided into view, swathed in a low-cut black dress, holding a glass of champagne. "Steve!" She failed miserably at pretending that she was surprised, as it was clear to anyone watching that she had purposely bumped into him.
"Hey." He has no idea who she was, but he was not about to let her notice that. He gave the woman a handsome smile.
"So," the brunette started, pouting a little. "I've been calling and calling. What happened? Why haven't you answered any of my calls?"
Steve tried his best not to sigh in exasperation. Of all the kinds of people he had to encounter, why a desperate clinger?
"Well, I've been really busy," he started slowly, his fingertips dragging ever so lightly on the smooth skin of her arm. "Been training, you know. But, hey, what say you we go hang outsomewhere after I go out and meet someone from the press?" Steve asked in a desperate attempt to get away.
The woman's face lit up, but then she looked at Steve suspiciously. "You're not going to try to get away again, are you?" she whined.
Steve had the overwhelming impulse to hit her. This girl was lucky he had such a fastidious self-control over his temper. "No! No! Why would I do that? Especially when you look so gorgeous tonight!" He started to walk away. "I'll come back for you! Trust me on this one!" he shouted, jogging towards the door, which was only a few steps away.
As Steve was about to leave, two suspicious-looking men standing by the concession stand caught his wandering gaze. The one closest to the stand was a balding, bespectacled man in a black suit. He was constantly wiping his temple and looking nervously at the passing party-goers.
Another, much younger man stood next to him. He was a pale man, with black hair slicked to the side. The man was dressed in some sort of brown military uniform and he didn't look like he was moving, much less breathing. His light gray eyes followed a couple of women who passed in front of him. He had a thin scar on his left cheek.
Steve frowned. The next time he should be in charge of who got invited to his parties. He didn't like the look of those two. As he closed the door, he checked his cell phone for the time. 12:11. He was late.
In room 1845…
Anna looked up as she heard footsteps from outside the room. About time. She had been waiting for fifteen minutes. She took a white gun from its holster and checked to make sure that it had bullets. She screwed in the silencer. She did the same to her black gun.
Since Kelevra wanted this to be a job that didn't look like a job, he had instructed her to use a dagger for the assignment. According to him, it was much more realistic for a girl to use a knife than a gun. Anna had assured him that he could trust her, but she hadn't told him that she would refuse to stain her hands with Steve Fox's blood….
The slow footsteps stopped right in front of the door, and Anna quickly hid herself in the shadows. She was concealed cleverly behind the thick, red velvet curtains of the big four-poster bed. Not only was it a good place to hide because the color matched her dress, but it also gave her a good view of her target, even with the limited light coming from the window behind the open blinds.
The door finally opened, and Anna heard three light steps on the marble floor before it grew quiet again, as the person reached the carpet.
Before Anna could reveal herself from her hiding place and shoot, the intruder spoke, "I know you're here."
The assassin frowned. That was definitely not Steve Fox. She peeked from the curtains and found the source of the voice. Just as she had expected, it belonged to a young girl. Anna squinted to get a better look at the intruder.
The newcomer had straight, long, blonde hair with bangs and she wore a white lacy dress with a matching pair of knee-high boots. The girl did not appear to be carrying a gun, although the parasol she was holding looked suspicious. Anna had to be quick. Stepping away from her hiding place, she pointed the guns to the teenager's chest.
"Who are you?" she asked, as the girl gasped and backed away.
The girl's surprised face was replaced with disdain. "Stop pretending that you don't remember me," she replied. She looked at the guns and then back at the assassin's cold face.
Anna continued to survey the girl's face, trying to remember when and where she had seen her. And then, it suddenly hit her. Of course! This was one of the wealthiest and youngest heiresses to ever walk the Earth: Emily Rochefort, also known as Lili. The young girl was a fixture in the news, newspapers, magazines, and billboards – you name it. She had inherited her father's oil company after his death some ten years ago. Now only sixteen, people were more interested in her spending habits than how she ran the company. It never failed to surprise Anna how the company managed to survive in her hands.
"How may I help you?" Anna asked, walking sideways to the left, but still keeping the gun pointed at the girl's chest.
"I know why you're here…. You're here to kill him, aren't you?" Lili said, walking to the right. "You're still as pathetic as you were ten years ago!" she spat, and her face filled with anger.
Anna smiled. The spoiled brat was telling her how pathetic she was when she couldn't even take care of herself? Madness! "Hey, pays the bills, honey. Not all of us are born into privilege like you," she teased.
Lili only glared as she pulled out the pink cloth that covered her parasol. She stood in front of Anna, holding a long, thin blade. Etched at the base of the sword was the Rochefort crest, and the handle was made of intertwined gold and silver.
"Hah! You think you can fight me, little girl?" the older woman scoffed, throwing her head back and laughing. "You don't stand a chance!"
"Try me." Lili's steely blue eyes were fixed on Anna, unblinking.
Without thinking twice, Anna fired and, only by sheer luck, Lili avoided the bullets. Lili hid behind a white dressing table as Anna continued to fire. For only the second time in her life, Lili was scared, and this woman had caused her fear on both occasions. Lili frowned, gritting her perfect white teeth. I will overcome this fear, no matter what.
Anna paused only to reload her gun. Lili took advantage of this and ran behind the couch. After about four seconds, Anna continued to shoot in the heiress' direction.
"Ah!" the young girl screamed shrilly as she felt a bullet tear through her skin. She looked at her left arm as blood started pouring out, staining the sleeve. Lili hadn't expected this. She had thought she could take out Anna easily, but she had underestimated her. At that very moment, Lili realized how inexperienced she still was in combat.
He had been right. He had warned her about this, but she hadn't listened. She had waited for this moment for ten years, and she was not just going to let it go to waste, or Anna would kill her, no matter what. Lili sat up and looked around the room. The assassin was just standing there, waiting for her to come out before shooting again.
"Why do you have to have two guns?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Anna laughed, "Didn't think one would be enough." She ran to the other side of the room to get a better shot at Lili, who took the opportunity to throw the sword at her. Anna saw it and dodged.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Lili jumped from behind the couch, ran at Anna, and kicked her right hand. Anna's white gun slipped from her hand, clattering uselessly by the door.
"Shit," Anna whispered as she looked up and found the saber pointed right at her throat.
"Drop it!" Anna only chuckled and dropped the black gun, which Lili quickly kicked away. "Fight fair."
Anna rolled her eyes and then grabbed two small knives from her belt. She took her stance. "Don't disappoint me," she said.
Lili charged. Her right arm folded behind her, and she tried to ignore the pain on her left arm. Anna quickly dodged her aim while throwing one of her knives at Lili. The girl barely avoided it, and it caught her by the cheek. A thin red line of blood appeared on her pale face, her fingertips slowly going through the fresh wound. Screaming, Lili lunged for Anna again and, this time, she was able to cut her.
The assassin gasped and backed away. Her hand quickly covered her upper left thigh, where Lili's blade had cut through. She looked at her red dress; the spot where she had been scratched was starting to darken. Anna looked at her hand, and the vermilion blood reminded her of a repressed memory from long ago. She closed her eyes shut, trying to push back the unwanted memories.
Lili took advantage of Anna's moment of weakness. Doing a back flip, she kicked Anna right on the chin with such force that it made the assassin back off against the wall and hit her head in the process. "You are quite a challenge, but you're still not very good, are you?"
That was the last thing Anna heard before she blacked out.
- - - - - - - - - -
The sharp sound of duct tape was the first thing Anna heard once she regained consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes and scanned the room. She expected to be in a dim warehouse with a couple of big men in front of her carrying bats and knives and herself bound to a hard wooden chair, but she was wrong. It was quite the opposite, actually.
She was in the same hotel room, with the carpeted floors, sitting on a red chair with velvet upholstery. The big crystal chandelier was now lit. In front of her stood a girl with long, blonde hair. Her once pristine white dress had a few tears and cuts, and she also had minor injuries, but she still looked composed as she cut off some duct tape.
Anna licked her lips and tasted her own blood as she watched the girl. Lili looked her in the eye, taking something brown from behind her into view. "Remember this?"
Anna frowned as she looked at the small brown teddy bear. Somehow, she was sure it contained a bomb. Lili placed it on her lap and then secured it with tape.
"Hmph! Crazy bitch. I don't even know you." Anna glared at the girl.
"It doesn't matter. You killed someone very important to me," Lili said simply, walking away. The girl didn't even look back as she closed the door gently behind her.
Once outside, for a few seconds, Lili only looked at her blood-stained hands. She was about to leave when she heard the sound of something hitting the door from inside the room. She looked at the door to the room she had just abandoned. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the knob and opened the door… only to find the chair empty.
She gasped, realizing that Anna had escaped her bonds. The assassin stood triumphantly on the window sill, dangling the rope Lili had used to tie her with. "Not good enough, Rochefort. Better luck next time!" Anna laughed.
Lili looked down and saw the brown teddy bear that contained the time bomb on the floor. It was about to explode any second now, and she had to think fast. With all the energy left in her, Lili kicked the toy away as hard as she could. The bomb exploded in the middle of the room, just as Anna jumped out of the window.
The force of the explosion pushed Lili out of the room, along with broken glass and furniture; the smoke set off the fire alarm and a shower of water, and the loud bell rang.
A young man walking in the same hallway was taken aback by the loud explosion and he started running towards it. As if by chance, the explosion had come from the direction of the room he was supposed to be in.
Steve approached cautiously and saw a body of a woman lying in front of the room, a wound bleeding on her forehead. He frowned: unconscious in front of him was none other than the infamous heiress of the Rochefort Enterprises.
What was she doing here? Was she the one who had sent him the message? Behind him, people were screaming and running out in the hallway, but the loud noise they were making seemed far away to him, and the only thing he could hear clearly was the sound of his beating heart.
I would like to thank the following people:
Thunderxtw, whitewave16, FuckFace, Divinely Ethereal, mirrors of illusion and Salysha.
(10/23/08) – Beta'd by Salysha.
